What do the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, SOPA, and Bank of America have in common?

Not taking a side in the current Planned Parenthood/Susan G. Komen Foundation kerfuffle, but instead reflecting on the trend of internet popular opinion rallying to steamroll somebody's newly unpopular initiatives.

Bank of America announced a monthly $5 debit card fee, but withdrew the idea once popular opinion roared in protest.

Likewise, SOPA & PIPA were on the fast-track for congressional approval until popular protest took off.

Now Komen has announced a policy change that has rallied fans of Planned Parenthood. I'm seeing a lot of counter protest on Facebook, and I won't be surprised if Komen reverses themselves or otherwise makes a concession.

So what's going on here?

The internet changed the calculus for each of the sponsors of change. The internet concentrates and amplifies popular opinion, and in some cases places activist action or retaliatory action an easy mouse click.

But for years political activists have generated grass roots (or sometimes astro-turf) campaigns, which means that either the internet has brought about a change in the magnitude of grass roots response or the sponsors are reacting differently (overreacting?)

My guess is that the latter is true - these recent protests are louder and more intense than previously experienced, but their duration is unknown, as the sponsors (BofA, etc.) have caved quickly. I think we will see more of the same until either some group answers popular protest with a certain "no," or rallies counter-protests online. I think, though, that the bias in popular opinion is against new initiatives, so I expect to see many more successful online protests - generally a good thing, except for public policy, which equates to mob rule.

Quick guide to podcasts.....

I'm a podcast junkie. Podcasts are a way to get great targeted content for free. I use them to keep informed, get a diversity of opinion, and further follow some of my hobbies and interests. Some of my favorite podcast are:

(click the podcast title to see the podcast in iTunes.)

Business:
BBC Business Daily (well-rounded 15 minute daily business news magazine)

Bloomberg on the economy (15 minutes of informed economic analysis and opinion)

BusinessWeek Global Outlook (weekly 10-minute story on something going on overseas that I probably wasn't aware of)

EconTalk (weekly economists view of current topics such as global warming.)

Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders (lectures by prominent entrepreneurs visiting Stanford.)

HBR Ideacast (weekly insight from the Harvard Business Review)

Knowledge@Wharton (weekly insight from the Wharton School of Business especially market insight from Proj. Jeremy Siegel)

Manager Tools (focused business refresher lessons. Even simple topics like "How to leave a voice mail" are extremely valuable)

PIMCO Investment Outlook (monthly insights from Bill Gross, the 'Warren Buffett of Bonds.' I can't believe his advice and commentary is free and freely available.)

(If I had to choose only one podcast in this category it would be the PIMCO Bill Gross cast.)

Life Sciences
First Word Pharmaceuticals (5 minute review of the headlines of the day.)

Genetic Engineering News GENcast (interviews with scientists.)

PharmaVentures Business Review (regular interviews with pharma deal makers and news makers)

Science Talk (slightly more mainstream audio featuring the best of Scientific American)

News & Politics
Cato Daily Podcast (~5 minute daily expose of libertarian politics and policy. I learn something new every day from Cato.)

The Economist - The World Next Week (weekly look at what will become news next week.)

Hobbies:
ESPN Baseball Today (daily during the season)

Golf Tips (3 minute long video lessons - really well done)

My History Can Beat Up Your Politics (yesterday's lessons for today's politics - extremely well done)

NPR Intelligence Squared (moderated Oxford-style debates on the issues of the day featuring teams of acknowledged experts)

RealTime with Bill Maher (audio feed of HBO broadcast. Hard to believe this is free.)

WSJ Your Money Matters (personal finance news and tips)

These are just the best of the podcasts that I listen to, so yes, I am a junkie. However, I liberally delete new episodes that do not interest me, so I'm not THAT rabid. I generally have podcasts playing over my stereo in the background or on my headphones at the gym for two hours a day. I'd like to think I'm learning something by osmosis.

One other free audio option via iTunes: iTunes U - complete college courses available free. Right now I'm slogging through an MIT biology course team taught by Eric Lander and Robert Weinberg.

So how do you get started listening to podcasts?

1) Download and run iTunes if you haven't already.
2) in the far left column, click on "Podcasts." This will take you to the directory of podcasts.
3) Find an interesting podcast either by clicking on one of my links above, clicking on an interesting link in iTunes, or using the search box in the upper right corner to find a podcast of interest.
4) once you find a podcast of interest, click on either the "SUBSCRIBE" button, or click on the "GET" button to download a specific episode. If you "SUBSCRIBE," subsequent episodes will be downloaded automatically as they become available, while getting an episode is a one-time event - perfect if you want to try out a podcast before committing. Either way, the podcast of interest will appear under the "PODCAST" tab once downloading has competed.
5) At this point, you can play the podcast by double clicking the episode, or you can upload it to your iPod or iPhone to listen to it later.

I'd encourage you to try everything. There's absolutely no cost for any of the content (you may have to listen to a 30-second advertisement on some podcasts), and if you find something you don't like, you can delete it in seconds.

Please let me know how you like podcasts, and please pass along any good tips.

Here's the official NON-endorsement of CogentPassion from China

Here's what shows when you try to access CogentPassion in China, courtesy of the BabelFish online translation service:

□the law □shows net □you to search □□front cannot use. The website possibly meets supports □□, or you need □to put in order you □□□to set.

I'm banned by China!

Well, my blog is, at least.

Finally found my way to an internet cafe. (1st stop this trip), and tried to ake a look at this blog. Turns out, China doesn't like bloggers, as they (we) have a nasty habit of not follwing the Chinese Communist Party line. As a result, I got a nasty "you're not permitted to see this" message when I typed in the blog's address.

Also, before I could even get online here in Shanghai, I had to submit my passport, which was dutifully copied and noted by a 17 or 18 year old clerk who couldn't have cared less. Between the passport and the login ID, I'm sure that an investigator could determine exactly what web pages I accessed.So, anyone have any other banned or illicit websites that I can try to access? I'd like to make as much work as possible for the Chinese internal security goons.

Sad thing is, I had just come to the conclusion after 4 days on the ground in China that all of the security stuff wasn't present, and that in booming China, communism and the government was just a speed-bump on the way to riches. But, apparently old habits die hard. (But they surely do eventually die. Right USSR?)